The Southwest Las Vegas Library and Service Center will be more than just book smart. The new building will house a library, auditorium and administrative offices under one roof for operational efficiency and cost savings. The $34-million complex broke ground in May 2009. It will open in March. Las Vegas-based Martin-Harris Construction is the general contractor, with URS Corp., San Francisco, as construction manager. “By combining design and construction of the service center with the new branch, the district will save nearly $4.5 million in construction costs and design fees over building two separate facilities,” says Jeanne Goodrich, Las Vegas-Clark
Along the El Camino Real, in a particularly arid region of New Mexico the conquistadors called Jornada Del Muerto (Journey of the Dead), the future of space travel is alive and nearly ready for launch. Begun in August 2009, Spaceport America is the world’s first inland purpose-built commercial spaceport capable of accommodating vertical and horizontal launch vehicles. The $198-million facility about 35 mi from Truth or Consequences is expected to be delivered to the state of New Mexico in July. Aerospace firms such as Armadillo Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS and UP Aerospace are considering commercial space flights from the 28-sq-mi
Hoover Dam, the Depression-era engineering marvel, turns 75 this month. While its new bridge crossing is set to open in November, the concrete monolith also is marking a dubious milestone this year�a 54-year low point for its water level, which threatens the dam�s hydroelectric output. Photo: Luetta Callaway As Hoover Dam celebrates its 75th anniversary, low Lake Mead water levels may lead to the eventual shutdown of the dam�s power-generating turbines. Lake Mead dipped to 1,085 ft in September, less than 40% of its capacity, following a decade of boom growth and drought. As a result, Hoover Dam may have
HAMMER HAYNES ROOSOn May 11, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that substantially modifies existing Arizona law concerning the prompt payment of contractors, subcontractors and materials suppliers on private projects. Although Arizona law requires prompt payment of contractors on both public and private construction projects, the new law, S.B. 1375, alters only the statutes that govern private contracts. No Change to Payment Cycle The bill retains the existing 21-day cycle for progress payments (14 days for the owner to certify and approve the payment application from the prime contractor and seven days thereafter to make the payment).
A four-year-long legal spat over Hoover Dam Bridge project's collapsed cableways has come to a close with a private settlement stemming from an April 20 arbitration ruling. On Sept. 15, 2006, a refurbished 42-year-old cableway system leased from American Bridge Co., Coraopolis, Penn., toppled over during 50-mph winds, bringing construction to a halt and delaying completion by two years. The 1,900-ft-long, 277-ft-deep twin-rib arched bridge will now open in early November. Photo: FHWA View of the collapsed North and South Cableway Crane system at Abutment 2 area in Arizona after the 2006 incident. In 2005, a general contracting joint venture
T.L. Roof & Associates Construction Co. broke ground on the Pascua Yaqui Multi-Justice Center for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Designed by Phoenix-based Durrant Architects, the project consists of a two-story, 62,700-sq-ft structure housing office space, courtrooms, holding cells and training rooms for police and justice department functions. The project is scheduled to complete within a year. T.L. Roof also completed the addition and renovation project for the Ott Family YMCA in Tucson. The project houses a new 7,200-sq-ft gymnasium, new 1,400-sq-ft lobby addition including a new elevator and stairwell access to the existing lower level and a 975-sq-ft cardio room.
Arizona State University’s $160-million Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV is starting to come out of the ground on the Tempe campus and has been steadily progressing since starting construction in March. The project was previously on hold due to the state budget crisis. Arizona State University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV, Tempe. The 294,000-sq-ft structure will be home to the School of Earth and Space Exploration and will include space for the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. It will house more than 160 labs, 60 faculty offices and a 250-seat auditorium. The building combines elements from an
Meridian Contracting broke ground on a $2.4-million, ARRA-funded project to build a pedestrian overpass at the Belen Rail Runner Station. It is expected to be complete by this November. A ramp and stairs will lead directly from the Rail Runner station to the overpass, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross Reinken Avenue and access First or Second streets via a lighted and completely ADA-accessible walkway. The design includes architectural features that reflect Belen’s history.
Granite Construction Co. was awarded a $29-million contract by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to rehabilitate approximately 62 mi of rural highway in the Navajo Nation. The ARRA-funded project will be divided into six sections spread out over 100 mi in San Juan and McKinley Counties. Work began in August and will take approximately 11 months to complete.
Crews celebrated the hoisting of the final two steel beams atop the D-backs and Rockies clubhouses at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, just five and a half months after the first concrete pour for the new spring training home for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. Mortenson Construction is constructing the 140-acre project within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale. Designed by HKS Architects, the project contains an 11,000-seat ballpark, 12 practice fields, as well as Major and Minor League clubhouses, training facilities and offices for each team. The facility will open in February 2011. The